Kirthi Jayakumar's Blog Posts Tagged 'Assad' (3)

Two years since the revolution began, the war is still raging in Syria. On February 12, though, a breakthrough came about when an airfield near Aleppo was captured by a rebel group. For the first time, rebels were able to seize usable warplanes. This not only signifies a triumph on their part, but also marks a change in their approach – as battles in cities have now shifted to attacks on military bases.

About a month ago, rebels in Syria had captured the Taftanaz airfield in northern…

Civil wars are easy to predict. The result is easy to glean well before they come to an end. Whether it was the American Civil War where Jefferson Davis did not doubt that he would lose the war after Atlanta fell, or in the 2011 Libyan case where Muammar Gaddhafi was fighting a lost cause after the NATO intervened, this has been true in most instances.

Following that long line of examples, is Bashar Assad of Syria. A civil war that began with the Arab Spring, the Syrian case is not…

Less than a week ago, Syrian President Bashar Assad addressed his country via television, denouncing his opponents as enemies of God, and puppets of the West. 21 months of civil war that has wiped 60,000 lives single-handedly has ut life in his country into a state of disarray. Assad has spoken out with his perspectives on the issues in his country after speaking to the Russian media in November last year, and after nearly eight months of speaking in Syria. …

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Carnegie Council

Are Americans too deferential to the armed forces, becoming increasingly willing to "outsource" judgement to the military? Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev talks with Dr. Kori Schake of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, co-author with James Mattis of "Warriors and Citizens: American Views of Our Military."

Less than 800 miles from our shores, Hondurans protesting against a fraudulent presidential election have been clubbed, shot at, terrorized, and arbitrarily arrested by the hundreds. Yet this crisis has hardly produced a blip on the radar screen of mainstream U.S. news.

The United States sent mixed signals at the 2018 Munich Security Conference. On the one hand, a bipartisan group of officials stressed continuity and legislative oversight when it comes to American foreign policy. But on the other, while not in attendance, President Trump undermined this message with tweets and comments signalling a more transactional approach.